FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Mutations of the novel coronavirus are more infectious, new data shows, as vaccine distribution progresses globally and countries consider whether to ease or strengthen restrictions. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news. EUROPE * Britain will place travellers arriving from COVID-19 hot spots in quarantine in hotels from Feb. 15. * Hotels, cinemas and theatres will reopen in Poland from mid-February at maximum half capacity, as the government takes tentative steps to reopen the economy amid rising frustration among businesses.

Mutations of the novel coronavirus are more infectious, new data shows, as vaccine distribution progresses globally and countries consider whether to ease or strengthen restrictions.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news.

EUROPE * Britain will place travellers arriving from COVID-19 hot spots in quarantine in hotels from Feb. 15.

* Hotels, cinemas and theatres will reopen in Poland from mid-February at maximum half capacity, as the government takes tentative steps to reopen the economy amid rising frustration among businesses. * Two leading French health officials called for new restrictive measures, taking the opposite view of the government.

* Hungary may start inoculating people with Russia's Sputnik V vaccine next week after it granted the shot emergency use approval, making it the first EU country to do so. ASIA-PACIFIC

* A panel of South Korean advisers has urged caution over the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for people older than 65, citing a lack of data, the food and drug safety ministry said, as the country granted conditional approval to Celltrion Inc's COVID-19 antibody treatment. * New Zealand said it will start receiving refugees again this month, nearly a year after it shut its borders to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

* China reported the fewest new COVID-19 cases in over a month, suggesting that the latest wave of the disease is subsiding. AMERICAS

* President Joe Biden's drive to enact a $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid bill gained momentum as the U.S. Senate narrowly approved a budget blueprint allowing Democrats to push the legislation through Congress in coming weeks with or without Republican support. * Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has had a negative COVID-19 test, less than two weeks after the 67-year-old announced he had contracted the virus.

* Panama's government is seeking 3 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 for 1.5 million people, hoping to receive them by March. * Brazil's prosecutor-general has opened a preliminary investigation into its president and health minister for possible negligence in response to a COVID-19 outbreak in Manaus city.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Yemen expects a first batch of 2.3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses by March through the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, and Saudi Arabia could separately finance shots for around 50% of the population, agencies involved have said.

* Israel has extended its third COVID-19 lockdown to Sunday, at which point nationwide curbs will be eased slowly. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Pfizer Inc has withdrawn an application for emergency-use authorisation of its vaccine in India, after failing to meet the drug regulator's demand for a local safety and immunogenicity study. * Drugmaker AstraZeneca has applied for approval of its vaccine in Japan.

* Recent data from Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands has shown that the analysed coronavirus mutations are more infectious, the head of Germany's Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Global shares approached record highs on Friday while the dollar and oil topped recent milestones, as progress in vaccine distribution and U.S. stimulus hopes prompted bets on further normalisation of the global economy. * U.S. job growth likely rebounded in January as authorities began easing COVID-19 restrictions on businesses with the ebbing pace of infections.

* Indonesia's economy suffered its first full-year contraction in over two decades in 2020, shrinking slightly more than expected in the fourth quarter. * Pacific island nations are turning to the China-backed AIIB development bank to plug funding gaps in their pandemic-ravaged budgets, stoking fears the region is becoming more dependent on Beijing.

(Compiled by Linda Pasquini, Amy Caren Daniel; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta)